Some of y'all are probably thinking..."for real?" "where have you been for the last 27 years??"Well, I grew up in a family that didn't really celebrate Halloween. Oh! we did the Fall/Harvest Festivals at church and all..but we didn't do all the costume dressing up until I was in high school. So by that time, I was "too cool" to even think about going door to door trick or treating. And having 7 siblings, we didn't do the pumpkin carving. I mean, who would want to buy 8 pumpkins every year and give your kids sharp utensils....scary!!! hahaNow, Don't get me wrong...especially if my parents are reading this...I had a great childhood. Loved spending time with family. We just had more fun on other holidays...especially Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So....Since I have never carved a pumpkin before, we invited Grandma over to help us carve the pumpkins for the kids this year. Kota was very proud of his pumpkin...as a whole. He didn't want Grandma to "cut up" his pumpkin. But once we told him we were going to make it look like our jack-o-lantern (we have one that you plug in), he was all for it. He wanted a scary face..just like the jack-o-lantern.

Grandma did great on Kota's pumpkin. Me, on the other hand...WOW!! I need more practice. I'm sure by the time the kids leave home, I will be one skillful pumpkin carver.

Grandma and Lily...starting to carve..don't worry, Lily doesn't have a knife..it is an icing spreader or whatever you call it.

Pulling the guts out

Pumpkin Anatomy 101....pulling the eye out!!

Lilyann with her pumpkin..carved by Me..Lily's green plastic knife was in the pumpkin

Dakota with Grandma's Masterpiece!!

Our glowing pumpkinsKota's is on the left and Lily's is on the right!

The kids love their "pumpkin heads"....that is what Kota calls them.

And I had a great time...definitely adding this to the family tradition list!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Dakota...October 2007.Here Dakota as a Lion at his visit to Grandma's office. The hat didn't stay on for very long.

What memorable image(s) makes your mid-week wonderful? Dive into those digital photos or scan a scrapbook find and play along with Way Back When-esday. Be sure and link back to participate in the web-wide reverie...and leave a comment when you do!You can link back to Cheryl's blog HERE

Now, on to post some more pictures of the kids trying on Costumes. I am hoping that the kids at least "want" to wear their costumes to go house to house. I didn't buy any new ones this year...so we tried on past Halloween Costumes.

Kota as Spiderman

Lilyann as the Lion...same Costume that Dakota has on for the Way Back When photo

Kota sporting the green dinosaur!!

and lastly, My Little Lamb Lily. I am thinking that this will be her costume for this year...as long as she doesn't get all dirty.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The kids and I were goofing around yesterday evening...and we took some silly pictures. We were celebrating for Lily...She pooped in the potty. I don't think she understood much of what was going on...but she did enjoy flushing her poopoo and saying Bye Bye.

Lily is starting to show interest in the potty. She thinks that anytime anyone goes into the bathroom, she MUST follow. So, I have a potty chair beside the big potty and she will sit there beside you.

Yesterday, I saw the poopy face start...

and then I heard the grunt..

so I picked her up and carried her into the bathroom, took her diaper off and she pooped!! Yay!I called Dakota into the bathroom and we all gave High Fives. Lily was all smiles. Then I got out the treats..The lollipops for going poopoo.

She hasn't had anymore potty victories...but she does know that what she did made everyone happy.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Thursday...I let Kota play in the puddles when the rain finally stopped. He had a blast!!

Friday...On my top 10 list of favorite pictures. This is Dakota and his friend holding a butterfly.

Saturday....Lily playing with the neighbor's kitty. And the kitty was playing back.

You know what Makes My Monday???

Our van is fixed...FINALLY!!! It took Jed lots of time, hard work, and a friend's help (Bro. Lott) and now the timing belt is changed. I haven't driven it yet...but plan on driving it today to the gym...to get back into my workout routine before the holidays come.

Having transportation makes my Monday. But having a husband willing to use his days off to solely work on our van definitely Makes My Monday. Thank you, Jed. I Love You!

I didn't take pictures of Jed working but I did take some pictures from the weekend of the kids playing outside. We had some spectacular weather. Sunny and cool!!

New to Makes My Monday? Share on your blog what warms your week's beginning: Post a picture and tell the tale. Then be sure to link back HERE (Cheryl's blog) to share in the web-wide Monday fun. Don't forget to leave a comment for others...comments are always Monday makers!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Yamboree 2009~this was our view while standing in line waiting for our ride on the Ferris Wheel~

We have attended the Yamboree for the last 5 years. There is always something fun to do at the Yamboree. It is our annual festival for yams. There are parades, carnival rides, yummy food, livestock shows, exhibits, concerts, and the list goes on.Jed had to use the last of his vacation time, so he was off for the Yamboree. We went up on Friday and saw the school parade. We went with Boo, and Aunt Gloria. My sister, Marg, met up with us..so Dakota could hang out with his cousins for a bit.

Dakota, Samantha, and Cash

After the parade, we headed on over to the Carousel with the kids. Lily was okay with riding, but Dakota could have cared less. He wasn't the happiest of riders..and this year, we didn't get an outside horse. But we still had fun.

Lilyann, Me, and Dakota

We had a blast on Friday after the parade...we went back up to Boo's house and enjoyed some yummy stew and cornbread. Then headed back out to see some exhibits and the livestock. We came across a pig and I was impressed. That was "Some Pig"...remember Charlotte's Web?? The pig we saw for sure had recently had a buttermilk bath. It was spotless. I almost wanted to touch it. Dakota checked out the pig and Lily was slightly hesitant about getting too close to that pig.

Dakota and the pig

Lily with Katie checking out the pig

Day 1 at the Yamboree ended with our having dinner at Aunt Samantha and Uncle Jerry's house. We headed out there and had hotdogs and hamburgers. The kids played inside with Katie and Brooke (Kota loves the Wii MarioKart) and the adults sitting around the fire outside. It was a chilly evening. But sitting by the fire sharing stories with family warms you right up. Lily even ventured outside for a chance to sit around the fire. I don't think that I have laughed that much in a long time. We all had our giggle boxes a going. Family time is so rewarding.

Grandma and Lily sitting by the fire

Saturday (Day 2) started with the Queen's Parade. Seeing all the floats, bands, and cars was fun. The picture below is our reflection in one of the old cars that passed by. I am sitting with Lily in front of me...right beside the little white chair. I think Lily was still eating funnel cake when I snapped this shot.

And you can't have a festival without some Corndogs. Corndogs seem to be the favorite of foods for my kids lately. Dakota is such a picky eater...and super skinny. So, I figure...find something he likes and let him eat it. Well, he LOVES corndogs. So, Jed stood in line for 20 minutes (he says...but it seemed forever longer) to get Dakota a corndog. After standing there that long, he figured that he might as well get one for Miss Lily and get something for us to share..a sausage on a stick. Lily was ever so thrilled to get the corndog. Kota was like was he was most of the weekend...slightly phased about it all. He's holding his corndog and then sees what Daddy is sharing with me and wants to trade. Well, he traded and he ate the rest of the sausage on a stick.

Lily...content with her corndog

Lilyann lugging her corndog up the hill to Boo's house...priceless picture

The picture above was taken by Grandma while we rode the Ferris Wheel with the kids. I never realized how much it costs to ride the rides at a carnival...but I can say that the $16 was worth it. Yes! I said, $16!!!!!The kids enjoyed it...I didn't realize that I'm not very good with heights. It was okay as long as we were moving...because I knew we were headed back down to the ground. But when we had to sit at the top and inch our way along as the Ferris Wheel was loading....that was a different story.It didn't even seem to phase the kids that they were up high. I think Jed did a great job of diverting their attention away from Mommy clinging to the bar in the middle. Lily was mesmerized by all the colors and the other rides. And it was quite the beautiful day for a Ferris Wheel ride.

Thanks to Grandma, Dakota was able to play one of the games at the carnival. He did great! He got 2 out of 3 balloons at the dart game! He won an orange alligator.

This past weekend was one for the memory books. We made memories, shared memories, and continued memories with our family.

Life is a rough biography. Memories smooth out the edges. ~Dante G. Roque

So, I am trying to get back in the hang of blogging on a regular basis...Missed a week (or more) of blogging and then trying to jump back into it..kinda hard...I guess I will jump in feet first!!

This week, I am playing along with 2 different blogs. Missy from Two Little Monkeys for Say What ?!?!?! Wednesday and Cheryl from Twinfatuation for Way Back When-esday. If you would like to play along with either blog just click on the link and blog about your Wednesday.

Say What ?!?!?! Wednesday:All the glory goes to Dakota...he is finally listening to what we are saying...so, these are mild reminders that we all need to beware with Little Ears listening.

Me: Dakota, come on!Dakota: ~silence~Me: Let's go, Crazy Man (this is what I call him sometimes when he is being silly)Dakota: Momma, I'm not Crazy man, I am Booger Picker!

Just goes to show...He was listening when I told him that people would call him a booger picker, if he kept on picking his nose.

Me: Lily, come here. Come here, Babe, you need a change.Kota: Lily's not a Babe, Daddy is a Babe.

Silly Kota...He thinks no one can be called Babe except for Daddy.

Way Back When-esday:I have yet to post the pictures from our weekend at the Yamboree. So, I thought that looking a few years back to a previous Yamboree would be fun!!! This is from Yamboree 2007...

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Wow!! I knew it had been a while since I last posted here...but not that long..It has been since the 9th!

Oh My!

And so much has happened in the last 11 days. It has been quite busy for sure. Not as busy as some, but busy for me.

Let's see....where do I start???

First off, a little update on my Mom. She is home..has been for a while. I enjoy having the opportunity to talk to her at almost anytime I want. She is just a phone call away. But Mom has also finished her in-home physical therapy. She is now doing some outpatient therapy each week. Mom has bounced back from her hip surgery quite well.

Now, on to other topics...we are still home bound. Our van has a mind of it's own. And right now, It chooses not to work. It did work long enough for us to get a new tire on it..and then it died, and we had to have it towed back to our house. Thank God for AAA.

With the cool Fall weather, I have been baking more..Just one recipe. Pumpkin Muffins. Dakota loves to help. I am trying to master this recipe..even though, it isn't a hard recipe, I still can't seem to master it. The recipe calls for: 1 box of spice cake mix, 1 can of plain pumpkin, and 1 cup of water. The muffins are so moist...and yummy! My kids love them. But I can't get them to stop sticking to the papers. Maybe one day....at least the kids don't mind my making them every few days.

Kota helping with the muffins

Playing outside is the new fad for my kids....It seemed like for awhile there that I needed to start working on our ark. We had rain, rain, and more rain. Our plants were loving all the rain, but Myself and the kids...not so much. Now, with rain free weather, we are outside playing more. Dakota loves it when we are outside when his friends get off the bus. Then they come over to jump on the trampoline and play chase in the backyard. Lily likes it because the neighbor's kitty comes over with them..and she gets to terrorize the cat. We really have to watch Lily with that kitty. She would carry it around by it's tail if the cat would let her.

Lily watching Kota and his friends

Lily climbed to the top of the castle and Kota did, too..Lily wasn't too happy about sharing the ladder

So, with the combination of outside playing and Lily learning new things, that has all kept me busy. Lily's new things to do are climbing and trying to get rid of her afternoon nap. She has already gotten rid of her morning nap...which I am just not getting used to. And I am praying she doesn't get rid of her afternoon nap. That is what helps me keep my sanity...what little bit I have left. Yesterday, after 3 attempts, Lily never did take a nap. And then when I put the kids to bed early...and it was only 30 minutes early...neither went to sleep until almost 9pm. 1 1/2 hours after their bedtime!!! Craziness!!

My climbing Lily Lu

We had a wonderful weekend....we went to the East Texas Yamboree!!! Lots of fun. I will post about that later (so check back soon for the Yamboree Post)...because right now, I hear Lily throwing stuff from her crib...which is means that today is turning into day #2 of no naps...ARRRGGHH!!!Here is a video of Lilyann after our 1st attempt at a nap yesterday. Where do kids get all that energy?

Friday, October 9, 2009

Now, this isn't just any teddy bear. This is my teddy bear that I have had since I was about a year old. I called him Mr. Honey Bear. When I moved away from home, Mom sent him with me with some of my other stuff from my childhood days.Well, last night, when the storms came through, Lily woke up..I went in there to check on her and she kept pointing to the shelf on the wall. It holds some of the kids' DVDs and a few stuffed animals. Lily wanted all the stuffed animals to sleep with her...especially Mr. Honey Bear. And ever since then, she has been playing with Mr. Honey Bear.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Jed and II couldn't find a date on this picture. I know we took it the day we registered at Target for our wedding. Oh, so long ago. This has to be when it was cold outside...since we are both wearing sweaters...so at 7 months before we got married.Winter 2003-2004

Wanna play along...visit Cheryl's blog Twinfatuation and link up to share your "Way Back When" photos.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Friday was a long day. We got up early to take Jed to work, so that we would have the truck to take Kota do the doctor. Kota woke up Thursday morning wheezing...It sounded like he had swallowed a whistle. I told him he sounded like Thomas the train. We got him in on Friday. Nothing like sitting in the sick waiting room during cold and flu season. Ugh. I can tell that a lot of parents got the same amount of sleep that I did the night before. I was never so happy to get the kids back to the room to see the Dr. It's the small things in life.

Kota doing one of his breathing treatments

The Dr checked Dakota over...no fever, no "monkeys in his ears" (ear infections), just lots of wheezing in his lungs. The Dr put Dakota on breathing treatments and steroids. Dakota has done pretty good with "acting like a fishy" and taking his medicine. He seems to be feeling better, not wheezing, but still a little coughing and congested.

Saturday was nice. Laundry and cleaning were on my list of things to do. And I got those things done (though you can't tell now). Saturday was Jerilyn's (Jed's cousin) birthday...her 21 st, I might add. So, we headed out to her house to help celebrate. We got there in time to play a quick game of volleyball. I LOVE volleyball. I used to play in high school and had a blast playing. I found myself getting back into the groove to play...setting it up, diving for the ball, and kneeling down to bump it right back over the net. Needless to say, my jeans have grass stains now. It was fun playing with friends and family. Dinner followed and then the festivities began....Singing Happy Birthday, cutting the cake, and opening presents.

Lily with Jerilyn getting ready to blow out the candles...

Blowing out the candles...practice for Lily in almost 2 months~Jerilyn's mom made the cake..and might I add, did a fabulous job--looked great and tasted oh! so yummy!!~

Dakota helping to open presents

Sunday. Rainy, relaxing weather. Our Sunday consisted of church, lunch at home while watching football, going to see the Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company, and followed up with church. Jed's mom gave us tickets to see the Ukrainian dancers while she stayed home and watched the kids. Boo, Jed's grandmother, went with us. It was AMAZING!!! Definitely a MUST SEE!! We couldn't take pictures of the show, but I found a video online of one of their dances. It is a longer video...but one of the best to see all the colors, and details of the dance.

♪♫♪Happy Happy Joy Joy♪♫♪
Welcome to our blog. I never knew the journey that accompanies a family. Getting married was a big step/commitment; but adding kiddos to the mix, euphoria on a bi-polar level ;) It's incredible how much you can love your little army of kiddos. Oh, they drive us both to brink of insanity...but no matter what happens...whether good or bad...funny or sad...it will all work out!
Family Verse: Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to [his] purpose."